My first few encounters with chef Mork Ratanakosol took place when his contemporary Thai restaurant was a delicious secret tucked away in a side alley of a suburban shopping centre. With such an innovative and original menu, and flavour-packed food, I had always imagined that Morks was destined for bigger and better things – so I was none too surprised when the establishment relocated to the Kingston Foreshore in springtime last year.

Spicemaster Ian 'Herbie' Hemphill (image courtesy Robert Rose)

'Imagine a world without herbs and spices! What if there were no such thing as vanilla ice cream, cinnamon buns or the aromatic flavour of juniper in gin? [And no] basil pesto, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, pickles, chilli sauce, seeded breads or tacos topped with zesty salsa!'
                               — Ian 'Herbie' Hemphill on The Spices in Our Lives, The Spice & Herb Bible

Liz Harfull, author, cook and cookery judge (image courtesy Allen & Unwin)

South Australian journalist, rural storyteller and writer, Liz Harfull, says she has what is possibly one of the best jobs in the world. Indeed, I feel more than a little envious when I learn that she has spent the last four years travelling around, visiting several of Australia's country and royal shows. 

Strolling around the picturesque village of Berrima in New South Wales recently, Peter and discovered a delicious and quirky larder door, tucked away at the bottom of the stairs leading down from the main street. I'd like to introduce you to the store owners, chefs Veronica Stute and Justin Wells, a.k.a. Two Skinny Cooks. 

Chrissie Wittich, owner of the V Spot Café with her daughter Georgia Hamon (right) and Ash Coates (left)

'Dear Liz,' read the invitation, 'At V Spot Café, we are passionate about promoting clean eating and nutrient dense, minimally-processed food that is low in sugar and high on taste. We’d love to showcase a delicious range of breakfast items from our menu. With this in mind, we hope you can join us for an intimate evening of Breakfast (our way) for Dinner.' 

Eleanor Ozich, author of My Petite Kitchen (image courtesy Murdoch Books)

'Simple is a word not often honoured in today's busy lives. However, it was this very word that inspired me to start writing a daily recipe blog. Petite Kitchen was created purely to share my passion and vision for wholesome, nourishing food. Every recipe in [my] book encapsulates my experiences of research, trial and testing, resulting in each recipe being created as nature intended it to be — simple!'.                                                                                             
                                           — Eleanor Ozich in the introduction to My Petite Kitchen

'My philosophy on food is much like my philosophy on life, to look for and make the best of beautiful ingredients: minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour.'                                                                  
  — Commendatore Antonio Carluccio, OBE, in Australia for the Canberra & Capital Region Truffle Festival

Australian-born photographer Susan Wright, author of Rome Secrets

'Falling in love with Rome came very naturally and easy to me. As an artist, photographer and a dreamer at heart, my imagination was captivated and inspired by the timeless grandeur, compelling beauty and irresistible ambience and spirit of this great city.'                                  
                                              -- Susan Wright in the introduction to her book, Rome Secrets

A deliciously interesting conversation has evolved between myself and some lovely friends of mine, who are also food writers and dedicated cooks. It started on Twitter a few weeks ago when Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial and Mel from The Cook's Notebook were chit-chatting about Le Creuset enamelled cast iron cookware sets that Mel had spotted on 'sale' at her local newly-opened Costco.

The Monday Morning Cooking Club (image courtesy MMCC)

'Here's a nice-sounding recipe. Take six women from mixed backgrounds and heritage, all with a passionate interest in food and cooking, and eating. Mix them all together in a kitchen once a week and give them free rein to cook the dishes they have learned from their Jewish mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, neighbours and family friends. And what do you get? Well, firstly you get the Monday Morning Cooking Club. And then you get a couple of wonderful cookbooks. Oh, and enduring friendships and fun.'

                                     -- Margaret Throsby, ABC Classic FM, speaking about the Monday Morning Cooking Club